Jazz history isn't exactly short on drummers who’ve pushed the artform to new heights. Some of them, as we all know, managed to do it on a nightly basis. For today’s jazz drummer, that means one thing: if you want to leave your mark, relying on chops and technique just isn’t going to do. You have to have a voice...
Though Sean Jefferson has certainly made it his life’s work to try and master the vast traditions set forth by drummers before him, he never set out to make music strictly for drummers. Or musicians. Or even jazz fans. Yes, he has studied rigorously. Yes, he has a knack for putting a fresh, cerebral spin on meter. Yes, he grooves hard and swings tight. But Jefferson has always, from day one, been in search of his own voice. And, though he is already pushing toward new horizons in jazz drumming, as a composer he points the way to a vision of jazz’s future as a language, and is never content to fall into the role of pedestrian beat-supplier. As far as Sean is concerned, drums must always fit into the greater whole of the music.
Visionary drummer/composer Sean Jefferson is proud to announce the September 20th release of Dreamworks, his sprawling new album on Wycliffe Gordon's Bluesback Records. You may already know Sean from his full-time gig as the hard-grooving drummer in Grammy- nominated organ trio Paradigm Shift, but Dreamworks, Jefferson's second album as a leader, announces his arrival in grand fashion. Consisting mostly of original compositions by Sean, Dreamworks captures him truly coming into his own as a composer. With Dreamworks, Jefferson was striving ... read more
"Jefferson's epic compositions have the sprawl of classical
music but demand hard-driving groove and hairpin time changes
that demand imagination from the players as opposed to sheer
precision....As a result, the music sparkles in four dimensions,
the way music does when four people truly play as a group."
Saby Reyes-Kulkarni (City Newspaper)
Primary Instrument
Drums
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
Masters Degree in Music & Music Education
Available by appointment
$46/hour
Clinic/Workshop Information
Sean holds a masters degree in music and music education
from Roberts Wesleyan College. He has studied both modern
and classical percussion in addition to a lifetime spent
mastering the infinite, ever-expanding vocabulary of jazz. A
professional working musician and composer himself,
Jefferson is active at the front lines of contemporary music
and teaches from the perspective of an innovator who is up
on today’s sounds
Masters Degree in Music & Music Education
Available by appointment
$46/hour
Clinic/Workshop Information
Sean holds a masters degree in music and music education
from Roberts Wesleyan College. He has studied both modern
and classical percussion in addition to a lifetime spent
mastering the infinite, ever-expanding vocabulary of jazz. A
professional working musician and composer himself,
Jefferson is active at the front lines of contemporary music
and teaches from the perspective of an innovator who is up
on today’s sounds. On the other hand, he comes at his
lessons with an equally strong appreciation for the depth of
jazz history and music history in general. Sean has always
been fascinated with cultural rhythmic systems, and the reach
of his curiosity extends to a broad variety of musics from
around the world. As he strives to understand music from so
many diverse perspectives, he brings a palpable, contagious
sense of curiosity and wonder to his lessons, as well as an
ability to render music – and make it understandable – via an
infinite range of shades, colors, and textures.
Lessons with Sean encompass the fundamentals of
drumming and rhythm, as well as a thorough, comprehensive
analysis of theory and foundational musical concepts. But,
where Sean does feel that these aspects are essential to a
musician's understanding, he also puts a clear emphasis on
the individuality of the student. His belief that "technique
should never interfere with artistic expression" lies at the core
of his teaching philosophy. As a drummer who continues to
devote himself to achieving command of technique, Sean
stewards his students towards rigorous practice. But he also
encourages his students to develop their chops to the point
where they don’t have to think about them, so that self-
expression always takes a front seat and the chops flow
automatically, from the gut rather than the head. His sense of
music as a holistic, all-encompassing way of life also plays a
prominent role in his teaching style. Jefferson attempts to
instill an awareness of music as it touches on all aspects of
being. He helps his students become attuned to the musical
nature of their own movements, speaking, listening, and other
daily activities. He also stresses the importance of a thorough
understanding of body mechanics, and of one's own body –
its rhythms, its relation to the instrument and the other
players, and its ultimate harmonic place in the world. After all,
the body and mind are our primary instruments! Moving from
the body to the spirit, Sean guides his students to the source
of their creativity. And, because he approaches the drumkit
as a kind of microcosmic orchestra unto itself, he encourages
students to pick the drum and percussion components that
suit their individual personalities and serve their artistic vision.
Integrating all of the aforementioned principles, Jefferson has
come up with his own unique teaching curriculum, which was
the focus of his master’s thesis, Drumset Rudiments: A
Research-Based Sequencing of Fundamental Movement and
Coordination Skills for Beginner and Advanced Drummers.
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